Recently Steve Thompson, MTAS executive director, and Don Green, LEIC executive director, attended the week-long UT Leadership Institute in Gatlinburg. Fifty existing and emerging leaders from across the UT system participated.
President Joe DiPietro spoke at the opening dinner on Sunday evening. Monday morning began with a panel discussion on leadership by the four campus chancellors, the chief human resource officer and me participating. After the panel, I left Don and Steve to tackle the remainder of the week. Here's their perspective:
Don said, "The most significant benefit of attending (for me) was the opportunity to meet new people from across the University System. The interaction we had, the information we shared, and the similarities we found made the six days at the Leadership Institute very worthwhile. Not only has it allowed me to gain insight as to how we can work together regardless of our individual campuses, but also provided me with individuals who can aid me in future outreach with our fellow employees.
While the Leadership Institute provided various programs on leadership to include; self-reflection, character, ethics, and conflict resolution, the greatest value achieved was through the team building exercises. The diversity of each exercise was designed to promote the learning module and provide examples of how our interaction with others could be improved. It also allowed our time together as team members to be utilized to its full potential. There was very little “down” time though out the six days.
While I have been fortunate to be exposed to a vast amount of leadership training throughout my employment history, I still gained several insights during the week.
• Mette Norgaard in discussing organizational change promoted that there were four different means in which to introduce change to an organization. Following the idea that plots from a story often comprise how an individual relates to information, she presented that ideas could be presented in one of four ways:
o The Downfall
o The Scam
o The Contest
o The Quest
The one that emphasizes motivating employees toward future outcomes would be the quest and that it has the most positive impact.
• Again, from Mette Norgaard, was the comment that “those who are here unfaithfully do great damage” and that to allow them to remain to fester within an organization is both negative and counterproductive to the mission. It emphasized that if someone is unhappy working within an organization, we should help them find their place in the world where they can be happy and our organization will not be tainted by their negativity.
Overall, the experience was a good one. While I gained personal insight, it also provided me with real-life examples of potential solutions to difficult management issues.
Thank you for the opportunity."
Steve said, "Thank you for the opportunity. I enjoyed the Leadership Institute. The program was well thought out, the facilitators and staff excellent, and the material was exceptional.
I enjoyed and benefited from several different aspects of the Institute, and while I was familiar with some of the information it did remind me of many of the concepts that I do try to follow and remember. My greatest benefit, however, came from the exposure to some of the talent, diversity, and services provided through the UT system. The participants were absolutely great, and I made a number of contacts (for example, with faculty involved in civic engagement) that will help us in the future with MTAS and IPS.
I was particularly impressed with and learned from the presentations on organizational change with Mette Norgaard discussing organizational change. The concept of telling your story as an organization, both internally and externally, and the consequences from doing so with each of the different ways was fascinating and enlightening. Don Green articulated this particularly well in our discussions, but as you follow the consequences of the 4 different story lines – The Downfall, The Scam, The Contest, and The Quest – you clearly see that only by raising a positive vision and goals for the organization can the organizational culture be positive in the long term. The Quest was, of course, particularly attractive, as we develop a vision above the horizon for an organization that is worthy of the challenges and talent of the people in the organization.
I also learned and was reminded of lessons in the Tops-Bottoms exercise. The same issues that drive many to move up in an organization – a desire for greater self-direction and control of work, greater responsibility and accountability – are the issues that made the work as a bottom so attractive, with expectations for clear direction, defined work structure, closure and accomplishment. Fascinating, isn’t it?
Thank you again. I was honored to be included in a great group."
When you see Steve or Don, be sure to ask them about their experience.
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